Liquid dispensing apparatus



May 16, 1939. I H. E. RUBENS 2,158,948

' LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS Original Filed March 12, 1934 /1v VENTORHARRY ERNEST RUBENS A TTORNEY I Patented May 16, 1939 UN T D STATESPATENT OFFICE moon) DISPENSING arranarus Harry Ernest Rubens, New York,N. Y.

Application March 12, 1934. Serial Renewed October 21, 1938 7 Claims.

This invention relates to dispensing devices attachable to bottles, andmore particularly to liquid dispensers for measuring a predeterminedamount of a liquid for liquids of a high degree of liquidity.

The development of the sale of small amounts of perfume from largerbottles has advanced to a point creating a specific need for dispensersfor measuring small amounts of perfume. In order that a proper apparatusshall be devised, it is necessary that all problems be thoroughlyunderstood in order that the apparatus devised shall overcome allspecial problems associated with the sale of perfume in bulk.

To meetthis problem dispensers have heretofore been devised which aredirected to the speciflc problem of dispensing perfume in small unitsfrom a specially devised bottle containing the perfume in bulk. The easewith which frauds can be perpetrated on purchasers will result in thedemand for the sale of bulk perfume from original and sealed containerswith the stamp of the manufacturer thereon. As a consequence, thepresent invention has for its primary object the dispensgging of perfumein measured quantities from a bottle sealed by the manufacturer andsubstantially incapable of being refilled by others with the intent todefraud.

Inasmuch as these sales of perfume in bulk are so usually in dramquantities, it is necessary that the dispensing aperture be as small aspossible for insertion in the unusually'small aperture of a drainbottle. Apparatus hitherto devised to dispense perfume has, as aconsequence, means for enabling the free flow of perfume through a smallnozzle by means of a vent in the valve, which frees the vacuum behindthe flow and thus all the liquid to run freely. Vents of this characterare disclosed in patents issued to Green a #397,854, Haas #508,014 andYvert #349,234

Valves for dispensing perfume containing vents are not practical in'thedispensing of perfume'in bulk from original bottles unless such bottlesare I constantly kept in an inverted position, for a small amount ofperfume will run out of the vent when the bottle is restored to itsnormal position. Proper merchandizing of perfume demands that thesebottles be kept in the normal position so that the eye can recognizewell known brands.

Thus another object of this invention is the creation of a valve whichwill permit dispensing perfume in small quantities through an orificecapable of entering the neck of the average dram bottle on themarketwithout the use of a vent.

Perfume sold in such minute quantities is exceedingly valuable and it isnecessary that no drops be wasted or lost through evaporation.

Accordingly, a further object of this invention is to provide mean sfor' dispensing perfume in dram sizes without loss of perfume byevaporation.

, Another object of this invention is a new method of merchandizingperfume whereby a number of popular brands of perfume, each with itsindividual dispenser, are adapted to be inserted into a special standfor holding an individual bottle and dispenser whereby many dollars cana bottle of perfume costing be securely held in position without dangerof dropping while its contents can be dispensed and removed withoutdiiiicuity and any other bottle with its desired contents can bereinserted into the stand and its liquid contents dispensed. Thus aplurality of bottles with individual dispensers provided with a singlestand whereby any desired perfume can be safely dispensed in dram lotsconstitutes an important object of this invention.

Other objects of this invention provide for a More specific obje cts andadvantages of the invention will appear as the nature of theimprovements are better understood, the invention consistingsubstantially in the novel arrangement and correlation of theinstrumentalities herein fully described and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing wherei 21 similar references characters are used todescribe corresponding parts throughout the several views and thenfinally pointed out and claims.

In the drawing,

indicated in the appended Figure l is a side elevation of the bottle anddispenser inserted into the stand, part of the stand and bottle beingshown in section;

Figure 2 is a top view of the stand alone; Figure 3 is an enlarged viewof the spring actuated holder for securing the dispenser tothe stand;

Figure 6 is a simil dispensing position;

ar view with the valves in the Figure '7 is a side view of-the dispenserlock for the bottle;

Figure 8 is a top view of the same;

Figure 9 is a sectional view of the valves being operated by a cammethod;

Figure 10 is a front view of the cam;

Figure 11 is a sectional view of the nozzle with non refillable sleeve;and

Figure 12 is a sectional view of a modified form of nozzle.

Figure 13 is a side view of a combined stand and nozzle.

A dispenser which will dispense perfume properly and which is leakproofshould have cone valves. These valves are known in the prior art, asindicated by the patents issued to Harvey, No. 1,402,604 of Jan. 3,1922; Park No. 852,343 of Apr, 30, 1907; and Marshall 695,691 of Mar.18, 1902. Here is disclosed a measuring chamber with an opening anddispensing cone valves with their corresponding valve seats. Thesevalves, however, are not practical for dispensing perfume as they failto combine the essential characteristics necessary for perfumedispensing, as will be indicated hereinafter.

Referring to the drawing, in Figure 4 there is shown a dispensingapparatus with a body chamber Ill and cone valves II and I2, with theircorresponding valve seats I3 and I4, valve II in a vertical position forallowing the liquid to enter by gravity and valve I2 in a verticalposition for allowing the liquid to be dispensed by gravity. A singlespring I6 normally forces the two valves into their respective valveseats, guided by a valve stem I6 so that when the apparatus is not inuse, the chamber I6 is closed, preventing perfume on the walls frombeing lost by evaporation. Valve seat I3 is located in the body chamberI0 and valve seat I4 is similarly located in the chamber cover II, whichis externally threaded at I8 for screw engagement with its correspondinginternal threads I9 located at the lower portion of the chamber I0.

The valve stem I6 has a head 26 and is slidably inserted in the conevalve I2, through a centrally located aperture 2|, and is threaded atits opposite end 22 for screw engagement with a centrally threadedaperture 23 located in the cone valve I I. An apertured leather washer24, through which the valve stem I6 operates, is positioned between thelower extremity of the spring I5 and the cone valve I2. This washer,which is of leather or of some such suitable material, prevents anypossible leakage through the central aperture 2| for the brief momentthe liquid is in the chamber I6 but before it is dispensed.

The chamber cover IT, has a central aperture 25, leading to the valveseat I4. Slidably mounted within the aperture 25 is a nozzle 26, theupper portion of which is located between the valve I2 and the head 20of the valve stem I6 which slides through an aperture 21 of the nozzle26.

The nozzle 26 is hollow and of cylindrical construction and is slottedat 26 to allow the liquid to enter the nozzle when it is desired todispense it. The outside and inside diameters of the nozzle areimportant, as will be described and. explained hereinafter.

An annular ring 29 encircles the nozzel 26 at a pointjust above itsdispensing aperture 36 which engages the contained 3I and carries thenozzle upward under pressure from the container. The annular ring 29 isslotted at various points designated 32 to permit the air from thecontainer 3| to escape into the atmosphere and permit the entrance ofthe liquid without hindrance.

Longitudinally extending from the body chamber and centrally locatedthereon is a threaded stem 33. It is of hollow construction and isslightly cambered to enable its engagement with a bottle stop such asthe cork 34 shown in Figure 1, which has a longitudinally aperturedorifice 35 slightly less in diameter than the threaded stem 33, so thata tight fit will occur when the stem is threaded into the cork.

The channel 36 extending through the stem 33 carries the liquid to thechamber I0 when the cone valve II is opened.

Encircling the body chamber I0 is an annular groove 31 adapted to engagea supporting shoulder 38 located on the stand. The shoulder 38, as shownin Figures 1 and 2, is a fiat sheet of metal or some such suitablematerial slotted at 39 to permit entrance of the dispenser andhemispherical in construction so that it will permit the completeentrance of the dispenser and engage the groove 31 for its support. Apair of flat springs 4I riveted to the sides of the shoulder aredepressed while the dispenser is inserted, but are released to engagethe sides of the groove 31 when the dispenser is completely inserted.The springs M are of approximately the same width as the groove so thatthey will engage the dispenser as shown in Figure 3. The dispenser canbe manually withdrawn by applying lateral pressure to the springs whichare cammed into their flexed position permitting the dispenser to becompletely withdrawn. Three sides of the flat plate comprising thesupporting shoulder 38 are downwardly bent as at 42, shown in Figure l,where the three supporting plates 43 comprising the front and two sideplates engage the shoulder 38 at 42 and are riveted together as at 44.The three supporting plates 43 have their remaining ends riveted to thestand base 45.

The dispenser is assembled in the following manner: The valve stem I6 isfirst inserted through the aperture 21 in the nozzle 26, then insertedthrough the aperture 25 in the chamber cover II, through the cone valveI2, washer 24, spring I5, then securely screwed through the upper conevalve II. This constitutes an extraordinarily easy assembly and thedispenser is complete when the chamber cover with the valve assembly isscrewed into the body chamber, as shown in Figure 4. Thereafter the stem33 is screwed into the cork 34 of any bottle, such as that shown inFigure 1, designated 41, and the bottle and dispenser are ready forinsertion into the stand, as previously described. For many purposes theinvention as described so far is complete. However, many other featuresare desirable such as the non-refillable feature, and these will bedescribed in detail after the complete explanation of the operation ofthe dispenser is outlined as follows hereinafter.

In Figure 4 the dispenser is shown with both valves closed, which is itsnormal position. When it is desired to fill the dispenser with ameasured amount of the liquid, the nozzle 26 is grasped with the fingersand by a downward pull the head of the valve stem I6 is engaged, openingthe cone valve II, permitting the fluid to enter. A pin 46 may be driveninto the valve stem I6 which limits the movement of the valves.

When the dispenser fills, and this will be apparent when the bubblesstop flowing through the liquid in the bottle 41, the bottle which it isdesired to fill with the measured amount of liquid,

such as ll, is brought into proper position as indicated in Figure 6,and by forcing the bottle upwardly engaging the annular ring 28, forcingthe nozzle 26 up against the lower cone valve l2, lifting it upwardlyand automatically allowing the contents to escape through the slots 28and funnel 26 in the nozzle. In the dispensing position the valve stem,being attached to the upper valve II, is stationary and the nozzle movesupwardly with respect to it, against the action of the spring l5.

The positions of the valves with respect to each other in both of theseoperations are shown in Figures and 6, with the position of the valvesshown in Figure 4 occurring when the pressure is released after filling,but before dispensing.

In applying the non-refillable feature, it is necessary to consider twoproblems. First, the dispenser must be attached to a bottle so that itcannot be taken apart; and secondly, the dispenser must be designed sothat it cannot be refilled through its nozzle. While locking andnonreflllable combinations are old in the prior art, the devicesdisclosed in the present application are simple in construction, easy tomanufacture and apply, and are especially adapted to a dispenserwhich-releases a predetermined quantity of liquid.

In Figure 4 is shown such a locking device which comprises two metalplates 50 and SI mounted on a. pin 53 passing through the walls of asleeve 56 screwablyattachable to the end of the stem 33. A straight wirespring 52 is inserted in each plate 50 and 5| at its outermostextremity, and the spring encirclesthe pin 53, as is shown in Figure 4,when the spring is flexed as the plates are forced under each otherabout the pin.

A pair of washers 54 and 55, springy in construction, force the twoplates together. As the two plates are inserted into the neck of thebottle in the position shown in Figure 4, they pass the neck of thebottle and open up inside the body of .the bottlev fanwise, as shown inFigure 1, under the action of the spring which forces them into thehorizontal position. As they reach the horizontal position, the plate 5|passes over an overhanging projection 51 on the plate 50 and, under theaction of the springy washers, is caught under the shoulder 66 andcannot move back again. A top and side view of the locking device isshown in Figures '7 and 8 respectively.

The non-refillable feature is located in the nozzle of the dispenser. Aninner sleeve 60, Figure 5, is caught by a shoulder 6| whenthe dispenseris in position to release its contents. It is gravityoperated and itsposition is just below the slot 28, which permits the liquid to escapefrom the chamber into the nozzle.

If it is desired to fill the dispenser through the nozzle, the positionof the dispenser is reversed, and the sleeve falling by gravity, blocksthe slots 26, thus preventing the entrance of theliquid from the chamberthrough the nozzle. In this position a new pair of slots 62 may beincorporated into the nozzle which will be opened by the action of thesleeve which will allow the liquid to escape from the nozzle, but notinto the dispenser. This position is illustrated in Figure 11.

Togprevent unscrewing the chamber. cover II, a spring 65 and pin 66 ofcommon construction are compressed into an aperture 61 into the cover,as shown in Figure 4, which will cause the pin to be forced into asimilar aperture 66 in the proper position when the body chamber is inscrew en- 1 l 3 gagement with the cover. This will prevent the coverfrom being unscrewed from the body. The manufacturer, knowing theposition of the pin, can without great damage drill a hole opposite thepin and release it later, filling up the hole.

As previously explained, the nozzle 26 has the minimum diameter whichwill enable a liquid such as perfume to flow from the chamber withoutthe use of a vent. The outside diameter of the nozzle 26 is, of course,determined by the inside diameter of the standard size dram bottle 3| inwhich it is to be inserted, as shown in Figure 4.

I have discovered that in the case of certain alcoholic liquids such asperfume, the viscosity is such that a free flow of liquid can beobtained through the nozzle without the use of a vent when the insidediameter of the nozzle is in the order of one quarter of an inch.

Inasmuch as the usual inside diameter of the dram bottles is also of theorder of one quarter of an inch, best results are obtained when thewalls of the nozzles are made as thin as is commercially practical inthe manufacturing operations to bring the inside diameter of the nozzlealso in the order of one quarter of an inch. This is important as theelimination of a vent further decreases possible losses of perfume byevaporation and leakage through such a vent.

Where it is necessary to reduce the orifice to a still smaller diameterfor insertion into special bottles, the nozzle illustrated at Figure 12can be used. This consists in supplying a small funnel Hi to the nozzle'H of the dispenser. In theory the perfume is allowed to flow into thefunnel where it may be dispensed by a nozzle of any desired smallerconstruction, such as 12 which may be integral with or secured to theoutside of nozzle H in any well known manner. I have found that if twoair holes, such as 13, are inserted as indicated in Figure 12, that theperfume will flow freely without filling the funnel itself These airholes 13 are produced just at the point where the diameter changes. Thenozzle 1i extends from the liquid dispenser and .is attached to the vdvestem l6 in exactly the same fashion as the nozzle 26 extends from thevalve stem l6, as shown in Figure 4. The change is only in the lowerpart of the nozzle where the diameter is reduced to provide for itsentrance into a bottle of small diameter. As has been explained, the airvents 13 provide for the release of the pressure behind the liquid toenable the free flow of the liquid through the reduced nozzle 12. Thefunnel I0 is a skirt integral with the nozzle H to support any overflowthrough the air vents 13.

In Figure 9, a construction is shown which necessitates piercing thewall of the body chamber at an additional point. While this constructionhas many disadvantages, namely that it requires two hands to empty thedispenser, one turning and one holding the container to the nozzle, inaddition to encumbering the surface of the dispenser with handles,adding materially to the cost by additional pieces, it 'possesses aninteresting cam movement which enables the valves to open alternately.Thus the valves I4 and 16, with their corresponding valve stems l6 andTI, and valve springs 16 and 19 are operated alternately by the cam 80,integral with the handle 8|, and held in place by the nut 62 and washer83. A nut 84 screws into the wall 86 of the dispenser and tightens thecompound 86 against the handle 8| to prevent leakage. A side view of thecam is shown in Figure 10.

The annular ring 29 may be replaced by a channel shaped section 90 onwhich the container 3| may be placed, pressing downward to fill thedispenser and pressing upward to empty the contents, as shown in Figure13.

Completing the apparatus is the container 3| which, as illustrated inFigures 4 and 6, possesses a double wall and is made of glass which willenable the inner portion 92 to be sllvered, giving a mirrored effect tothe container. Different colored glass will produce difierent effects,producing an unusual appearance to the container.

An important contribution to the design of dispensers is the feature ofproducing an operation of the double valves through the nozzle itselfwithout any additional apparatus. This reduces the cost considerably andminimizes the possibilities of leakage. It will be apparent thatnormally both valves are closed, thus preventing evaporation, and thatdouble valves will substantially eliminate the possibilities of leakage.If the top valve should leak, the liquid will be caught in the chamberand form part of the measured quantity when the contents are dispensed.

In Figure 5 the cover I! is threaded to the chamber body so that anyvariation may be made in capacity with facility.

Where it is desired to change the quantity of the liquid, a cylindricalobject such as SI-may be inserted in the body, reducing the capacity asshown in dotted lines in Figure 4.

The above description has been given to illustrate the invention and Ido not wish to be limited except as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a liquid dispenser; a measuring chamber; an inlet valve and anoutlet valve in said chamber; a nozzle member adjacent to said outletvalve; and means in said nozzle member for independently opening each ofsaid valves.

2. In a liquid dispenser; a measuring chamber; an inlet valve and anoutlet valve in said chamber; a nozzle in operative relation with saidoutlet valve forconducting fluid therefrom and for independentlyoperating each of said valves.

3. In a liquid dispenser; a measuring chamber; an inlet valve and anoutlet valve connected to said chamber; a nozzle in operative relation,with said outlet valve for conducting fluid there-' from and foroperating one of said valves independently of the other; and meanswhereby when one of said valves is operated to its open position, theother of said valves is held in a positive manner against its seat.

4. In a liquid dispenser having an inlet valve and an outlet valve; anozzle having an enlarged receiving opening and a reduced passage forconducting fiuid from said outlet valve permitting the free flow ofliquid therethrough; and a funnel integral with said nozzle having avent associated with said nozzle where the efiective internal diameterof the fluid passage is reduced.

5. In combination a container of liquid; 9. liquid dispenser connectedthereto for dispensing predetermined quantities of liquid from saidcontainer; and spring actuated means attached to said dispenser forinsertion into said container; means for preventing said dispenser frombeing removed from said container without destroying the container; and.means for preventing the admission of liquid directly into saidcontainer through its outlet valve.

6. In combination, a liquid dispenser and a support for maintaining saidliquid dispensers in normal and-inverted positions; pressure-controlled,spring actuated means attached to said support for releasably holdingsaid dispenser by the application of pressure; cooperating means on saiddispenser for engagement with said pressure-controlled, spring actuatedmeans, wherew by said dispenser may be attached and removed from saidsupport by the application of pressure.

7. A liquid dispenser for measuring a predetermined quantity of liquidhaving a measuring chamber, an inlet valve and an outlet valve; meansfor operating independently either of said valves, having an externalreceptacle receiving structure, for positive engagement with areceptacle used for operating said valves.

HARRY ERNEST RUBENS.

